Jon Royle gets the seal of approval from AFC Telford boss Gavin Cowan

Royle, 24, has been with the Bucks since September 2016, which is longer than anyone else in the squad.

Many thought Cowan would let him go after taking the reins, but he was given another chance and has shone in the centre of the park this season.

“At the end of the day, it’s a direction thing,” said Cowan.

“You need to be directed and the thing with Jon, it’s all about decision-making.

“If you can minimalise that, you’ve got a player on your hands. And I think he can do everything.”

Royle has made 17 appearances in National League North for Telford this campaign – just two less than he managed for the whole of last term under Rob Edwards.

A midfielder whose main role is to add stability in front of the defence, Cowan has also challenged him to break forward and offer more of a goal threat.

And while there is still work to be done in that regard, he did open his account for the season in the recent 4-3 FA Trophy win against Farsley Celtic.

He also broke into the box on several occasions as he put in a man of the match display against Nuneaton Borough on Boxing Day.

“I’ve really demanded that of him,” added Cowan.“I had to give him a bit of a rollicking in the first five minutes, but the best thing about Jon is that he’s not very precious.

“I love that. He takes things on board and puts them into practice. “The idea is that him or Ellis (Deeney) have got to be breaking into that box more, as we want to score more goals.

“That’s what we’re about, we want to take more risks.”

“That’s what we’re doing and it’s pleasing to see him doing so well when a lot of people thought I was not going to acquire his services again in the summer.

“I was the one saying we haven’t got the best out of him yet, but we’ve managed to do that now.”